THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, December 31, 1994 TAG: 9412290021
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
SERIES: Issues facing the 104th Congress
Fifth in a series
LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines
This is the fifth in a series of editorials examining issues that will face the 104th Congress.
A Republican theme has been how meddlesome government has become with its officious bureaucrats, burdensome regulations and labyrinth of legal rules. They promise help.
The Contract With America includes the Common Sense Legal Reform Act that would institute a loser-pays provision for lawsuits. It is aimed at eliminating frivolous actions and curbing rapacious lawyers. Critics have a valid concern, however. Reform must guard against tilting the scales of justice in favor of the well-heeled who can afford to litigate foes into the poorhouse.
The Contract also calls for limits on punitive damage award and reform of product liability awards. Tort reform to minimize medical-malpractice suits could also be lumped under this heading.
While headline-grabbing awards of gigantic sums are few and far between, sponsors of reform argue the fear of such judgments distorts the marketplace, stifles innovation and leads to the wasteful practice of defensive medicine. Surely a middle course is possible that prevents plaintiffs and their attorneys from afflicting the guiltless while still protecting authentic victims.
The Contract also proposes relief to enterprises by subjecting regulations to cost/benefit analysis. Republicans are right to oppose regulations that do little good but make it impossible to produce a product at a profit. Reform needn't mean a return to an anything-goes past where profit at any price was encouraged. Again, a middle course should be sought.
Republicans favor a moratorium on unfunded mandates that burden the states with expensive responsibilities without providing the money needed to pay for them. This pernicious practice should end.
In the same spirit, Republicans hope to roll back many existing measures, including affirmative action. family leave, disabilities legislation and much more. Some represent overweaning government at its worst, others are popular.
Republicans must pick their shots carefully so as not to waste time and political capital on entrenched programs with mobilized constituencies. Their best hope is a requirement that new mandates not be imposed without the funds needed to pay for them.
KEYWORDS: CONTRACT WITH AMERICA by CNB